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The Relationship Between Parents’ and Children’s Automatic Thoughts in a College Student Sample

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Abstract

Research demonstrates the importance of early social interactions in the development of schemas and automatic thoughts. It does not appear, however, that the existing research examines intergenerational correlations in automatic thoughts. As a result, this study explores the relationship between the automatic thoughts of parents and those of their college-age children in a sample of 252 college students and their mothers and fathers. Results of this study suggest that there are significant relationships between parents’ and college students’ positive automatic thoughts. Different trends by gender also are noted in the relationships among variables for male and female college students with their mothers and fathers. Further, mothers’ positive ATs predicted the positive ATs of their college students, with mothers’ ratings of their own communication with their college students mediating partially this relationship. Finally, college students’ anxiety and self-esteem is predicted significantly by their mothers’ anxiety and self-esteem (respectively) as well as their own positive and negative ATs. These findings suggest the possibility that ATs play a role in the intergenerational transmission of certain domains of psychological functioning.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA

    Reesa Donnelly

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Central Florida, P.O. Box 161390, Orlando, FL, 32816, USA

    Kimberly Renk, Valerie K. Sims & Jack McGuire

Authors
  1. Reesa Donnelly
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  2. Kimberly Renk
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  3. Valerie K. Sims
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  4. Jack McGuire
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Kimberly Renk.

Additional information

This manuscript is based on the Master’s Thesis of the first author under the direction of the second author. The remaining authors provided thoughtful and critical feedback as part of the committee for this project.

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Donnelly, R., Renk, K., Sims, V.K. et al. The Relationship Between Parents’ and Children’s Automatic Thoughts in a College Student Sample. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 42, 197–218 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-010-0210-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-010-0210-5

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